Well I bought a 1999 Audi A4 1.8T AQ about 3 weeks ago. CEL was on and there was an exhaust leak. (Only two problems I could see.) The car had 101,000 miles on it.

I took the car to KDM tuning to get everything checked out and I was shocked at what they found.

Here's the list of problems Danny gave me (shortened):

Car needs Oil pan, gasket oil pump, oil cooler, oil cooler hoses (2), oil change (syn), rear wheel bearing, prop seal, Tensioner gasket, valve cover gasket, tune up, timing belt and all parts, cat conv, motor mount and camshaft sensor.

He estimated all this would cost around 5300.

Here's my question, is it worth doing this? I love the car but it does have over 100k miles and was hoping you guys could give me some insight since I am not really in the know about Audi's.

Thanks.

 

i would take it to another euro shop and see what they find, that's alot of money for a car you just bought 3 weeks ago. that's my opinion.

 

If you sold it as is, could you recover what you paid for it 3 wks ago? or atleast keep your loss below a 5300+ mark?

If you spend the 5300+ on it now, you'll know those components are new and will last that much longer. Sucks to hear of your problems.

 

wow they must need the work I would definitely have a second opinion and if its true take the car back and get your money back, was it a garage you got it from?? if yes let them know your intentions as im sure they should have told you of the problems I don't know about the law in the states but in the UK we have 28 days to return it or longer if it were found out it was a deliberate scam then the law can be used

 

I'd bring it in and get a couple quotes from other shops, without giving them your current one. Do you have a trusted mechanic around you?! If not, Bring it to a Midas, they have STRICT guidelines they have to go by, I used to work there, and dealing the the corporation's policies, you had to make sure everything recomended was something that in fact had to be replaced, not just a quick glance, point of the finger, and here's your estimate sort of thing. They have to be 100% sure what was recommended needed to be done.

$5300 for all that seems like he's trying to take you for a ride, Did he mention severity of any of the items due? Thats an EXTREMELY high estimate for a routine inspection, its possible, but I don't think I had ever written an estimate over $2,000 in my life, and haven't ever seen one either (other than what you'd expect i.e. engine replacements, transmission replacements, etc). Find some local guys from the forum, and have a DIY day on your car, everyone could learn something, you could all drink a few beers (I don't know many Audi drivers opposed to alcohol), and you'd be able to learn some stuff about your car you maybe didn't previously know.

If Doing it yourself is outta the question, shop around for a mechanic with less of a Labor rate. I know its hard to find one that's willing to work on anything European, but they are regular cars like all other ones, some mechanics are just scared by unfamiliarity, but every shop has access to manuals or the internet (i.e. ALLDATA) to get proper instruction on repairs.... it could save you a couple hundred (possibly thousand) in the end.

..... I geuss thats my .02

 

I guess I should shop around but this guy seemed to know what he was talking about. KMD is supposedly one of the best Audi tuners around here so I figured I could trust them.

Labattz I doubt I could get what I paid for it being as there is a CEL and a very noticable exhaust leak.

 

If he has a reputation as the BEST, he's going to charge for it... I'd at least get a couple more estimates.

 

I'd have Sergey at Edge Motors in West Haverstraw, NY check the car.

www.edge-motors.com

 

Based on how rough the car is running I am a little scared to take it that far.

 

Sergey at Edge Motors does good work at reasonable prices.